Wednesday, June 06, 2007

edited to add: The Mighty Hunter's dad is now cancer free. I realize that I didn't make it clear that he is a survivor. Sorry for any confusion. Also, some very sweet comments from y'all. Thanks!The charitable cause that is dearest to my heart is The American Cancer Society.

June 30, 2007, will be 7 years since The Mighty Hunter's mother died. She had a very rare form of leukemia. The Mighty Hunter had prostate cancer and surgery for it in November 2006. When I was 5, my first cousin, died at age 10 of bone cancer. The Migthy Hunter's grandfather died of prostate cancer. Several of his great-aunts and uncles have also died of cancer.

His cancer risks are terrifying.

Our cancer losses are heart-breaking.

Each year, I attend our area's Relay for Life. I always take Stinkerbell. I think it is important for her to understand that sometimes the people we love get sick. Sometimes they die, but many times they survive. I want her to understand that I do this each year to remember how much I miss her grandmother. She never knew her grandmother; I was 6 weeks pregnant when she died. It is one night where I know we'll talk about her grandmother and how funny and smart and pretty and special she was. Our memories are all she'll ever have of her grandmother, but she can create her own memories of doing something in her memory.

Something to help others.

Find a Relay for Life in your area and attend. The event is generally free. But it is a fund-raiser. So, take some cash and support the Relay Teams with your donations.

2 comments:

I am so sorry for your losses. So far, I've lost both grandfathers, an uncle, and a grandmother to various forms of cancer, and my living grandmother battled melanoma. The American Cancer Society is a wonderful chariy.

My condolences for your losses. My grandfather passed away from prostate cancer and it was so hard to watch him suffer from such a terrible disease. I pray that scientists will continue to make progress in understanding the causes of cancer and how best to treat it.